Xu spots golden greenfield opportunity

JEFF Xu’s Golden Age has acquired a 21ha site in Melbourne’s north-west fringe suburb of Rockbank in its first greenfield play, which it said would add $120 million to the developer’s portfolio.

It has submitted a development application for 520-578 Greigs Road, which could yield around 377 lots ranging from 185 sqm to 650 sqm, as well as public land.

The group acquired the property in an off-market deal negotiated by Colliers.

Willow Springs is the name given to the proposed community, which presents a diversification from the group’s typical high-density projects.

Xu said the developer was entered the greenfield market due to the strong, stable demand for land in Melbourne’s growth suburbs.

“A significant proportion of Victoria’s expected population growth is predicted to be absorbed by the western fringe; as a developer it is our responsibility to outpace that growth and facilitate the expansion of Melbourne,” he added.

“The demand for well-produced land in Melbourne’s outer ring is growing rapidly due to an increasing population and affordability pressure in the inner-ring. We can expect continued solid growth in the outer-ring, which is how we identified this opportunity to use our point of difference as a mixed-use developer to offer a new level of quality and a unique approach to land.

“We have been creating vertical communities for many years now so we are very much looking forward to applying this knowledge to our first land project, and create a community that is different to what has been produced before,” Xu said.
The Victorian government’s Western Melbourne Regional Plan 2016-2019 forecasts Melbourne’s west to reach a population of 1,110,700 by 2031, with an average annual increase of 2.14%.

According to the overarching PSP, Rockbank will soon host a major town centre and public plaza built adjacent to the existing train station and car park, set to undergo upgrades in the coming years, just three minutes from the proposed site.

Directly adjacent to new site will be a primary and secondary school as well as ample open spaces and community facilities including childcare and aged care.

Similarly, the median land price in Mitchell average $280,000, while posting the strongest growth of 45.1%.

The most expensive lots are in the south-east LGA of Casey at $375,000, while neighbouring Cardinia grew by 41.2% to $344,500. Hume was up 28.6% to $333,888, and Whittlesea by 33.2% to $333,000.Wyndham grew by 19.2% to $316,000.